


Some Things Never Change

by cmk418



Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-29
Updated: 2007-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmk418/pseuds/cmk418
Summary: Tim and Sean through the years
Relationships: Tim McManus/Sean Murphy
Collections: Oz Magi





	Some Things Never Change

Attica, New York, 1978

The sound of the window opening roused Sean Murphy from his sleep. He leaned down and grabbed a tennis racket from the floor then moved to the window. A duffel bag landed at his feet with a soft thump. Sean sighed and dropped the tennis racket atop the bag, then helped haul Tim McManus into the room.

“Thanks, buddy,” said Tim.

Sean stepped back, arms folded in front of his chest. “Mom found the weed?”

“Yup. And I got a date with Simone tomorrow night. No way am I gonna be stuck in the house for two weeks. That’s cruel and unusual punishment.”

“Not that unusual. So, Simone, huh? Figure out how you’re gonna pick her up?”

“Shit.” Tim looked at Sean, hope in his eyes. “You could...”

“No. No way.”

“Maybe she has a friend.”

“Rhonda would skin me alive if she know I went out with another girl.”

“What am I always telling you, buddy? Being tied down at our age isn’t natural.”

“I thought you liked Rhonda.”

Tim shrugged.

“You hate my girlfriend.”

“She’s just--“ Tim started.

“Why are you bringing this up now? We’ve been going steady for almost four months. You’ve had plenty of time to say something.”

“I asked if you were sure.”

“And I said yes.”

“Well, when someone asks something like that it’s because they don’t want you to do it.”

“God, you’re such a girl.”

“Fuck you.”

“For the record, she doesn’t care for you either.”

“A girl not liking her boyfriend’s best friend. There’s something very...”

“Ordinary?”

“Exactly. Why date ordinary?”

“I’m pretty ordinary too, Tim.”

There was a long pause before Tim stated quietly, “No, you’re not.”

Sean wasn’t sure what to make of Tim’s comment. His best friend wasn’t usually so mushy. Maybe he should just chalk it up to the fact that Tim was having a lousy night and not give him any shit for it.

On the other hand...

Sean faked wiping a tear from his eye. “Aw, you think I’m special.”

“Shut the hell up.”

Now, _that_ was the Tim McManus he knew.

*~*~*~*~*

Two years later...

Sean helped Tim load the ugly orange couch into the moving van. “You ready to go?”

“In a minute,” answered Tim, then proceeded to spend the next _five_ making out with his girlfriend-of-the-week.

Sean laid on the horn, watching as Tim eased away from the girl. Tim whispered something to her, which made her glare daggers at Sean. Typical McManus, he’d piss them off and then Sean would have to deal with the fallout.

Tim slipped into the passenger seat. “Let’s go.”

Sean pulled away from the curb, never so glad to be leaving a place as he was in that moment. Ten days on the road with his best friend, heading toward Berkeley. “I can’t believe your mom let you take the couch.”

“Gonna need some place to entertain the ladies.”

“No doubt the criminal justice halls will be teaming with attractive young women,” Sean said with a grin.

“I’m taking more than that. If I wanted a degree in just CJ, I would have stayed here with you.”

Sean let Tim’s words sink in, not knowing if he should be flattered or hurt by the comment.

“You know that, right?” asked Tim; suddenly concerned that his best friend hadn’t realized how hard this decision had been for him.

“Yeah,” mumbled Sean. Suddenly the road ahead seemed too long and too short all at once.

Later that night as he rolled over for the fifteenth time on Tim’s couch, Sean considered staying. He could break free of everything else in his life and just be here, hanging out with Tim.

Tim McManus who could drive him bug crazy even at the best of times.

Tim McManus who could be whiny, manipulative, and far too needy for Sean’s own good.

Tim McManus who really didn’t need Sean Murphy anymore.

Tim had gotten out. There was nothing that Sean could do to ruin that. “Good for you, Timmy,” he mumbled, before falling asleep.

*~*~*~*~*

Tim cracked up the first time he saw Sean in uniform. Well, technically, it wasn’t the first time. The first was when they went as a guard and prisoner several years ago for Halloween. And although it no longer fit, Tim still had the orange jumpsuit in his closet.

“Didn’t think you’d be awake yet.”

“I’m not. I was hoping you could play hooky today. Whaddaya say?”

Sean chugged down a glass of orange juice and grabbed a handful of cereal from the box on the counter. Tim still hadn’t moved from his spot on the futon. That irritated Sean a little bit. Tim could goof around all summer, but Sean - Sean had _responsibilities_.

“I’d say I have a staff meeting this morning and then I get the ever-so-pleasant task of prisoner orientation.”

“Ooh, reciting the rules and regs. Thought they only gave that shit to old timers.”

“I’ve made it through two years. That qualifies as old time in Attica.”

“Can you get out early?”

“Probably not. Weekly decompression session tonight after work.”

Tim waited for Sean’s invitation to join him at the bar, but none was forthcoming. Maybe this vacation was a bad idea. Sean had a job, was making money and friends – friends who were not Tim – and seemed pretty set in his life. Tim was just an intrusion.

This wasn’t what Tim had envisioned when he thought of life after high school. He’d always expected that the two of them would be starting at the same prison at the same time and rising through the ranks, maybe eventually running a prison together.

“Did you change something in here?” Tim asked.

“Since last time? I don’t think so.”

“Seems smaller.”

Sean had been around Tim enough to know when the other man was pouting. It was either cave, or deal with ten more days of this. “I can try to get my shift changed the next few days. There are a few guys that don’t mind doing doubles.”

“Well, don’t put yourself out on my account,” Tim said, making Sean seriously consider strangling him.

It was good to know that, no matter where they went in life, some things didn’t change.

*~*~*~*~*

Sean answered the rapid knocking on his door. Tim was outside. There was a pickup truck on the street in front of the house and a very familiar orange couch protruding out of it. “Where the hell’d you get that?”

“The truck? Borrowed it from Ellie’s brother. I thought I’d bring you a belated housewarming gift.”

“That thing?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that couch.”

Sean’s eyes narrowed. “She wouldn’t let you keep it.”

“She wouldn’t let me keep it.”

“Ha! It begins.”

“She’s the one, Sean.”

“You said that about Kim.”

“That’s before I knew she was nuts.”

“And Gina.”

“Well, Gina had the...” Tim made the universal symbol for “boobs”.

“And Elizabeth.”

“Is there a point or are you just running through a list of names?”

“Don’t you think there’s a pattern here? I might not have minored in psychology...”

“It was sociology.”

“...But this is textbook – something.”

“Well, that clarifies it. I’ve been diagnosed with ‘something’.”

“Chronic asshole syndrome.”

“Nice. I bring you a couch and I get insulted.”

Sean helped Tim get the couch from the truck and the two began hauling it up to the door.

“I’m thinking about proposing to Ellie,” Tim announced. Sean stopped suddenly and was propelled backward a few steps by Tim’s continuing movement.

“When?”

“It’s our six-month anniversary on Saturday. I don’t want to waste any time.”

“Tim, are you sure?”

“She’s smart, funny, passionate. Everything I’ve been looking for. And she’s been there for six months. Present company excepted, have I ever had a relationship that lasted that long?”

Sean thought about it for a moment. Maybe this woman really was “the one”.  
“So when do I get to meet her?”

“She’s got to say ‘yes’ first. After that, we’ll set something up.”

The invitation never came.

*~*~*~*~*

Tim slid the sheet of paper over the bar.

“What’s this?” asked Sean.

“What’s it look like?” responded Tim, taking a sip of his beer.

“It looks like that project we did for Old Lady Simmons’ art class. The one we got a ‘C’ on because you got a little too progressive. The perfect cell block. How naive were we, thinking that something like that could ever exist.”

“We were about eighteen years too early.”

“Eighteen, yeah, more like eighty. What made you think of this?”

“I got the approval for it this morning.”

“Bullshit,” Sean said, but the grin on Tim’s face told him otherwise. Sean’s mouth dropped open. “They bought the fishbowl?!”

“You’re looking at the new experimental unit at Oswald State Penitentiary.”

“Congratulations. What does the wife think?”

“Well... I wanted to show you first.”

“That good, huh?”

Tim took another drink of beer. “You still got my couch?”

“Right where you left it.”

*~*~*~*~*

“The governor is doing the whole ribbon cutting ceremony at ten, but I wanted you to see it first.”

“Thanks. There’s something unnatural about a ribbon cutting for a prison unit. It just seems like – snip – there goes your freedom.”

“Well, Emerald City’s a different unit.”

“Emerald City? Your idea?”

“That’s what the press is calling it. For all of the money the State allocated to it.”

“That or the Oz thing.”

“Oh yeah. Cute.”

There hadn’t been any prisoners allowed near this area during the construction period, so the unit was completely open when they walked in. The glass windows gleamed; the smell of fresh paint hung lightly in the air. Everything had an aura of “new” about it.

Tim walked backward, rehearsing the tour he would be giving in two hours time. “Here’s the quad. This is the common space for the prisoners where they can gather and watch television or engage in a spirited game of checkers, always under the watchful eyes of the C.O.s.”

Sean rolled his eyes at Tim’s delivery then took in the expanse of the cellblock. “Damn, there’s a lot of glass here.”

“From first-time drug offenders to convicted murderers, Emerald City is capable of handling any type of prisoner.”

“Once the tensions start, and, believe me, my friend, they will, these guys will be in each other’s faces every hour of every day. The decent ones will just get worse and the lifers have nothing to lose.”

Tim ignored him and pointed out various landmarks from their spot on the floor. “Laundry room, shower, upstairs we’ve got a computer room as well as a multi-purpose room that will be used for education. I’m looking to implement a full-scale GED program very soon.”

“I’m sure the governor will support that.” Sean shook his head.

“It only takes one ‘yes’. If I hadn’t put forth a proposal, Em City never would have come into existence. Come up and see the view.” Tim climbed the stairs to the guard post as Sean followed. Tim flipped a few switches and cameras took in most of what couldn’t be readily seen. Sean looked at the screens.

“Got a blind spot.”

“Where?”

“Right under the stairs.”

“I seriously doubt anyone is going to get shanked down there, but I’ll mention to Leo that we might need another camera.”

“Where’s your office?”

Tim pointed. “Right there.”

“Corner office. Nice.”

“Still got that spot open if you’re interested.”

“Think I’ll stay where I am at the moment.”

“Oh. Okay.” Tim fell silent. He had seen this as their “baby” and had always figured that Sean would be here when the time came.

Sean sensed Tim’s train of thought and smiled. “You’ll be fine.”

Tim straightened. “State of the art facility. Progressive environment. What could possibly go wrong?”

*~*~*~*~*  
“Hey buddy.”

“Sean.” Tim’s voice came out weak. “I got shot.”

“That you did.”

“Hurts.”

“I suppose it would.”

“They got me on some excellent drugs though.”

“Seems like it.”

“They destroyed my unit.”

“Saw that on the news.”

Sean wanted to say more, wanted to curse at him and his stupid unit that was the cause of all these problems, wanted to tell Tim how scared he’d been for the past two days from the moment his own prison went into lockdown as a result of all this Emerald City nonsense. He wanted to let Tim know that he’d waited outside the prison, saw them wheel him out on a gurney. He wanted to express all the sentimental nonsense that went through his mind ever since all this started. Sean wanted to say all that, but he knew that none of it would have any impact on Tim in his present condition.

Tim spoke again. “Always wondered what would happen if I was ever in a riot. Didn’t think it would be like this.”

“You thought you’d be the hero.”

“Something like that.”

“So that’s why...”

“Yeah.”

“There’s a blonde outside looking for you.”

“Diane Wittlesey.”

“ _The_ Diane? Want me to go so she can come in?”

“No.”

“Sean?”

“What, buddy?”

“They destroyed my unit.”

“It’ll be patched up. Good as new. Just like you.”

*~*~*~*~*

“I got a feeling I’m going to need another C.O. supervisor pretty soon.”

“Metzger not working out?”

“He’s a fucking Nazi. Once I get Leo to start thinking logically on this, Metzger’s out.”

“Maybe... By the way, did Leo ever put in that camera?”

“What camera?”

“I have a feeling you’re going to be waiting a long time, my friend.”

“If Metzger goes, will you consider it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on. You said yourself it’s a long shot. If Leo gives him the boot, will you at least come in for an interview?”

“With you?”

“No, with Leo. Hell, Sean, you know you’re my guy.”

“You didn’t ask me after Wittlesey transferred.”

“No.”

“So what’s different?”

“Now, I’m not coming away from a year’s worth of nightmares from the riot. I wasn’t about to put you in a position where-“

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“If someone deems it necessary to put Metzger out of a job, I’m in.”

Two days later, Sean’s phone rang. “So when should I schedule your interview?”

*~*~*~*~*

The problem, thought Sean, was that Tim was a trouble magnet. Any other guy wouldn’t have gotten himself mired in a sexual harassment scandal. Correction, _two_ sexual harassment scandals. Both were absolute bullshit, but that didn’t stop people and the press from dragging Tim through the mud.

And because he was the person closest to Tim, Sean wasn’t exactly feeling untouched by the accusations either.

All he knew was that Tim needed him again. Sean was the voice of reason whispering in Tim’s ear. His was the hand keeping the office door closed when Wangler passed outside the corridor with Sister Pete. His was the quiet “Tim” uttered during a staff meeting, when he sensed that his friend was going to say something incredibly stupid. His was the body in the boxing ring, letting Tim throw his punches and get his aggression out in the safest way possible.

It was good that Tim sucked at boxing because they’d stay in the ring for hours after work. Sean didn’t cut his friend any slack, throwing at least as many punches as he received, all the while trying to give helpful instruction to correct Tim’s technique.

_“You’re too direct. You’ve got to vary your approach.”_

_“Don’t plant your feet. You don’t plant your feet in basketball, why do it here?”_

_“Your extension is for shit. Are you holding back? Don’t hold back. Ow.”_

Tim never said much during their boxing sessions. He’d work himself to the point of exhaustion, taking each blow without complaint. He’d explained it to Sean one evening, while lying on his faded orange couch.

“If I can take everything that’s thrown at me and still get up, that’s something.”

Trouble magnet or not, Tim McManus was the strongest person that Sean Murphy had ever known.

*~*~*~*~*

“Sean, Sean, Sean. Hey, come here. You got to see this.”

Tim sounded almost giddy as Sean entered the living room.

“Are you drunk?”

“Come here, come here, come here.”

“God, you’re worse than a three year old.” Sean glanced at the television set where Tim was playing a video. “Is that Adebisi?”

Tim giggled.

“It’s Querns’ pink slip.”

Sean sank onto the couch. “Holy Mother of God.”

“You’ll come back with me.”

“And miss all the fun times with Timmy Kirk and Vern Schillinger in Unit B? Gee, Tim, I don’t know.”

“You aren’t funny.”

“That’s assuming Leo offers you the job back.”

“Who’s he going to give it to, Sean? It’s my unit. Those are my prisoners.”

“Technically they’re the State’s prisoners.”

“Well, until fucking James Devlin comes down from Mount Olympus to take my job, they’re mine.”

They watched a few minutes more of the tape before Tim switched it off. “I have a meeting with Leo tomorrow morning. After that, we’ll be back. Home.”

“You have a strange concept of that word.”

“All these months, I’ve been drifting, going through the motions. And now, I’ve found my center again. I can see it all so clearly. You and me. Back in Em City. What could possibly go wrong?”

*~*~*~*~*

Sean looked up too late, saw Omar bury the shank into Tim’s stomach. He reacted immediately. Possibly another time cooler heads would have prevailed, but all he could think was to get this thug off his best friend. He disposed of White quickly, tossing him over the rail of the guard tower, then ran toward Tim.

Jesus Christ, what a mess. And Tim lay there, bleeding under Sean’s hand, staring up at him, uncomprehending.

Sean was pissed off all over again. Tim was the eternal optimist, never suspecting that one of “his” precious prisoners would attempt to shank him. If McManus survived, the first thing Sean would do would be to issue a reality check.

_If McManus survived._

Where was help? How long ago had he called it in? It might have been just a few seconds. It felt like hours.

The people that knew these things always said that it took a long time to die from a gut wound, but none of those people were here now, listening to their best friend scream in agony.

Shouldn’t someone be ushering the prisoners to their cells? All of them, milling around, were a bit distracting. He sensed that some of them wanted Tim McManus to die. Ungrateful fuckers. Didn’t they know that Tim was trying his hardest to make this shitty experience bearable?

Where the fuck was Gloria? Would she have been here faster if it was Ryan O’Reily bleeding all over the damn place?

Tim had passed out. This was not good. Not good at all. Blood trickled through Sean’s fingers. He wanted to move his hand, but he was afraid that if he did that, Tim would bleed out faster.

It took Sean a few seconds to realize that help had arrived. He was in a bit of a daze and slow in moving his hands away from Tim. Leo stopped him on the way out, told him he’d need to file a report, but Sean wasn’t letting bureaucratic bullshit keep him from accompanying Tim to the hospital. He’d be there when Tim woke up.

*~*~*~*~*

They hadn’t slept side by side since high school, but Tim had been wasted and clingy and Sean couldn’t bear to leave him alone.

Tim opened his eyes and the two lay staring at the ceiling. “Tell me I dreamt that.”

“No.”

“We’re out. Again.”

“Just momentarily displaced.”

“You’re momentarily displaced. I... I don’t know what I am.”

Sean turned toward him. “You’re Tim McManus.”

“There’s no place for me at Lardner.”

“Once we’re back, you’ll...”

“Do you think the unit is contaminated?”

“The whole prison is under quarantine, Tim. They’re not going to let you run in and check out Em City.”

“Querns hates me.”

“Fuck Querns.”

“Are you still going to work for him after the quarantine is lifted?”

“We both are.”

“Think there’s any chance of Devlin getting impeached?”

“Highly doubtful.”

“Maybe Keller sent the governor’s office a special package too?”

“Not unless Devlin had some sort of grudge against Beecher we didn’t know about.”

“The things we do for the people we love, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Sean?” Tim turned toward him. “If he doesn’t get impeached, and I’m... well, you know, maybe you could run Em City. She’s half your baby, always has been.”

“I don’t know, Tim.”

“Well, think about it.”

“They can’t shut it down that long, can they? Maybe a week or two. Maybe a month at the most, right?”

“Probably.”

*~*~*~*~*

Boxes lined the floor of the living room. The movers were scheduled to arrive that afternoon. Tim paced the floor. Sean sat on the couch, watching him.

“Weird. You’re going away again.”

“We’ll see each other. Besides, it’s only Joliet.”

Sean grinned, “Yeah, only halfway across the country this time. Guess I should be glad you’re not in Lompoc.” His voice got quiet. “Tim?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure?”

The one remaining clock on the wall ticked off the seconds. Tim moved to take it down, then turned back to Sean. “No.”

Sean opened his mouth to tell Tim, _this is stupid, unpack your things, and come back home where you belong._

Before he could say any of those things, Tim continued, “But I’ll be okay. We’ll still see each other, right?” He climbed up on the couch next to Sean, “And I’ll be bringing this old ugly bunch of springs, so you’ll always have a place to sleep when you come out to visit.”

*~*~*~*~*

Sean rolled over in bed and picked up the phone.

“I got the job.”

Sean rubbed a hand over his face. “Congratulations.”

“You’re talking to the Warden at Joliet.”

“That’s great, Tim, just great.”

“Hey, what’s the weather like out there?”

Sean pulled the curtain and peeked outside. “Cold. Snowy.”

“Hmm. Same here.”

“How cold?”

“Not bad. The wind’s a bit of a bitch, but it’s nothing that would require a full wardrobe change.”

“Maybe I want to be warden, you ever thought of that?”

Tim honestly hadn’t. In his mind, he’d always been in charge, Sean always second-in-command. “You can be vice-warden or assistant warden, whatever you want. We’ll make a position.”

“Somebody’s gonna be pretty pissed off, Tim.”

“Aw, hell, somebody’s always pissed off. Story of my life.”

There’s a chuckle through the phone. “Truer words were never spoken.” Sean paused. “You don’t mind me leaving the fishbowl?”

Sean could feel Tim smiling on the other end. “Pretty much the same fish here. Just a different pond.”

“Except for you.”

“Except for me.”

“Give me a month.”

“I’ll be here.”

-End-


End file.
